Photographs by Frank

10 June 2018

Four Species in Twelve Feet

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Spring,wildflowers — Tags: , — Frank @ 7:00 PM

During my walk this morning, I stopped at a sunny spot along a forest road to see what odes were present. Sunny spots in a wooded landscape are “hot spots” that concentrate odes.

The road is roughly eight feet wide and the sunny spot was roughly twelve feet long.

I was able to photograph four species of dragonflies in the small area: hudsonian whiteface, chalk-fronted corporal, racket-tailed emerald and one that I have not identified yet*. There were small numbers (3-6) individuals of the first two species and single individuals of the last two species in this small patch of sunlight.

As it was yesterday, chalk-fronted corporals were abundant along the road with small numbers of hudsonian whitefaces also present.

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* An immature male frosted whiteface. Thanks to Nick et al. from the NEOdes mailing list for the ID.

 

8 June 2018

Small Critters

Filed under: Amphibians,Odontates,Other Insects,Spring,wildflowers — Tags: , , — Frank @ 10:30 PM

This morning, after an absence of almost two weeks*, I took a walk up the unmaintained section of Brimstone Corner Road just to see what was around.

Ode-wise, the most common species were still the “early birds”… Hudsonian whitefaces (yellow individuals only) and chalk-fronted corporals (of both sexes). The numbers were small about six whitefaces and a dozen corporals in the three miles I walked.

I also observed a single brown-grey damselfly (probably a female bluet of some sort) and a female racket-tailed emerald.

There were a number of other small critters about. That is, besides the black flies and the mosquitoes (although neither of these were present in numbers large enough to be bothersome). I saw two red efts and a small (about the length of the first joint of my thumb) wood frog. Small numbers of at least three species of butterflies and one moth were also out and about.

Plant-wise, the spring ephemerals (trillium, etc.) are gone but a number of small summer flowers are in bloom or just about to open up.

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* I spent ten days in Maryland visiting my mother who is in a rehab facility after breaking both a wrist and a hip.

 

24 May 2018

Eight Years and Counting

Filed under: Uncategorized — Frank @ 10:00 PM

No new photos for today, but I cannot let the day pass without comment.

I made my first-ever post here, eight years ago today… here it is, so you don’t have to search for it!

Four hundred seventy four posts later, I am still at it. Who woulda thunk?

As the last photo in my most recent post says… Life is Good.

22 May 2018

Rainy Day Colors

Filed under: architecture,Garden Flowers,Monadnock Region,Spring — Tags: , — Frank @ 6:00 PM

After finishing my errands this morning, I took a stroll (with camera in hand) around downtown Peterborough in a light rain.

The light was dull and flat, it was not a day for black and white photos, but the rain did make the colors really pop!

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19 May 2018

Ode Season Progression

Filed under: Mammals,Monadnock Region,Odontates,Other Insects,Spring,wildflowers — Tags: , , , , — Frank @ 10:05 AM

The ode season progresses.

The hudsonian whitefaces are maturing. Both males and females emerge with yellow and black markings. As the males mature the yellow spots turn red. Yesterday, about one in ten of the hudsonian whitefaces I saw were red or reddish.

Hudsonian whitefaces were still, by far, the most common ode around. However, small numbers of chalk-fronted corporals and brownish-grey damselflies (most probably a bluet of some sort) have appeared in the past few days.

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While prowling the “neighborhood” with a camera set up to make close up photos of smallish insects, I often find other things to point my lens at… other insects (especially butterflies) and flowers (of both wild and garden ilk) are most common.

Yesterday, while I was kneeling near a stone wall stalking a chalk-fronted corporal, a chipmunk poked its head out from between two stones. He was a very curious “fellow”*. Every time I moved he would duck back into the crevice, but after a few seconds he would reappear. I was close enough to photograph him without taking the extension tube from between my camera and lens.

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* I say “fellow”, but I did not see enough of this individual to actually determine its sex.

13 May 2018

Ode Opener 2018

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Spring — Tags: — Frank @ 9:00 PM

Over the past few days, I have been watching the appearance of increasing numbers of Hudsonian whitefaces in the yard and on the road. There were a scattered few last Monday. Today, there were dozens. (Today, I also observed, but did not identify or photograph, a single damselfly.)

Hooray… Ode season is upon us!!!

This afternoon, I dusted off the ode rig and spent a bit of time brushing up on my ode photography skills. Those skills were rusty, but the kinks worked themselves out quickly.

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12 May 2018

Spring Olio

Filed under: Early Spring,Monadnock Region — Frank @ 11:00 PM

Early last week I noticed that all of the remaining beech leaves which hung to the trees all winter long were suddenly on the ground. A couple of days later, this years crop of beech leaves exploded into view. The maple trees began producing leaves in concert with the beeches and a day or two later the first ferns of the season poked up out of the leaf litter.

Spring has really sprung!

The first photo of this group (‘Raindrops’) was made during a one minute (literally) spring shower that occurred just as I passed by the stream which crossed the the road near brimstone corner. The rain lasted just long enough that I could make three exposures.

The last photo, that I have titled ‘Happy Accident’, is exactly that. As I lowered my camera back to my side after making an exposure, I accidentally tripped the shutter. I discovered this frame (which is reminiscent of those in my series titled “Autumnal Abstracts”)  on my memory card when I moved the days photos to the computer.

These two photos are evidence that serendipity plays a larger role in making photographs than we might like to admit. Although, I also think that Pasteur’s famous statement “Dans les champs de l’observation le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés.*” is also worth remembering in this context.

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* In english: “In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind.”

 

Spring Ephemerals

Filed under: Early Spring,Monadnock Region,wildflowers — Tags: — Frank @ 10:00 PM

Despite today’s cool wet weather (45 degrees and showers), spring has finally sprung here in NH. I saw my first odes of the season the middle of last week (no photos though), the early green of spring has exploded in the last week or so and the early spring ephemerals are in bloom.

I photographed a few of these flowers on my walk yesterday.

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30 April 2018

WPPD 2018

Filed under: Landscapes,Pinhole Photography — Tags: — Frank @ 12:30 AM

Sunday (29 April) was Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day (WPPD).  The Vermont Center for Photography celebrated with a free workshop. I made photographs at the workshop and in both Harrisville and Hancock on the way home.

The large majority of the photos I made were with a pinhole. However, I made a few using a glass lens… the subjects just did not say “pinhole” to me.

Pinhole Photographs

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Other Photographs

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26 April 2018

Bailey Brook

Filed under: Early Spring,Landscapes,Monadnock Region — Tags: , — Frank @ 11:59 PM

This afternoon, I spent some time at Bailey Brook in Nelson. This brook has two very nice water falls separated by about a quarter mile of stream containing numerous small cascades. The stream was flowing well as we had about a half inch of rain yesterday.

The lower falls is visible from the road and is the smaller but more photogenic of the two. The upper falls has a very nice swimming hole at its top. I did not avail myself of this amenity today. It was breezy and the temperature was in the mid-50’s! The skies were partly cloudy with periods of bright sun (not so good for photographing waterfalls) and periods of thick clouds (good for the task at hand). The clouds were moving quickly so I never had to wait long for the light to change.

Bailey Brook is one of the few places in our neck of the Monadnock region where I have observed skunk cabbage*. There were newly emerging plants at numerous locations along the edge of the brook.

Damp feet and knees were a small price to pay for the photographs I made.

Color Work

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Black and White Work

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* Edit: Joan says that this plant is American False Hellebore, NOT skunk cabbage. I have enough trouble with odes… plants are too much for me!

 

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